Sunday, February 18, 2018

Black Panther Secures the Bag with Record-Breaking Opening Weekend

Written by Meagan FaisonAfter months of anticipation, Black Panther
is finally here to take the throne as the must-see movie of 2018. And that’s
not just an opinion, we’ve got the receipts to prove it.

The Disney-Marvel film follows the story of T’Challa
aka Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) who is the leader and protector of the
rich and mysterious African kingdom of Wakanda. A first for the Marvel
Universe, the film has a predominantly black cast which includes superstars
like Angela Bassett, Lupita Nyong’o, Forest Whitaker, Daniel Kaluuya and
Michael B. Jordan.

Now back to those receipts I mentioned
earlier...Black Panther made its debut in theaters across North America
this weekend and is shattering all types of records. According to analytics company
ComScore, Black Panther has already raked in an estimated $192 million
domestically and $361 million worldwide. That makes it the most profitable
February opening and the fifth-biggest domestic opening of all time.

Directed by Ryan Coogler, the movie is also the
biggest opening ever for an African-American director. And let me not forget to
mention that it’s also a major win for Marvel, as the studio’s second-largest
opening after The Avengers in 2012.

Black Panther is even holding
onto a 97% score on Rotten Tomatoes, making in the highest-scoring superhero
film ever!

Another interesting point to
note is the diversity of the audiences that came out to see the film. While
most of our timelines were flooded with our friends dressed in their dashikis
and all black fits, a report from ComScore showed that there was actually a
great balance of cultural support. Reportedly, 37% of ticket buyers were Black,
35% were White and 18% were Hispanic.

The numbers don’t lie, so
hopefully now we can look forward to seeing even more diversity in Hollywood’s
blockbuster films and casts. And maybe a Black Panther sequel too?